March 8, 2022

Detroit man, 62, headed to Ukraine: 'I'm actually going to fight'

Source: Detroit Free Press

Inside a Pentecostal church on 12 Mile Road, a group of Ukrainian-Americans and pastors stood around M. Dujon Johnson, their heads bowed and hands stretched out, some touching the Detroiter in a show of support.

"Deliver us from evil," they said Friday afternoon, reciting the Lord's Prayer at Church of the King in downtown Berkley.

A pastor then asked God to protect Johnson, 62, who had told the group he's on his way to Ukraine to fight alongside their forces.

"Father, we pray right now as we stand here with M. Dujon Johnson," the Rev. Jack Perkins of Southwestern Church of God in Detroit said, his right hand on Johnson's left shoulder. "We pray God that you would bless him ... Give him the wisdom that he needs, Lord God, to be a help and an assistance. Father God, give him the protection that he needs, that he be safe. Lord God, give him the strength that he needs that he may be able to survive.". . .

Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/03/08/detroit-ukraine-fight-m-dujon-johnson/9381984002/

---

Mr, Johnson is a Black man. He recalls what fights for freedom are all about. As he says in the article:

"When people hear about Black Lives Matter and voting rights, they think it's just for Black folks, but we've always stood up for what's right for all people," Johnson said. "So I'm going there, because the concepts of democracy, freedom, being treated right, that's just part of our legacy. And I feel compelled to uphold it."

Stay safe and thank you, Mr. Johnson.